Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 60 Fortress
The entire raid went remarkably smoothly; the officer cavalry easily captured the fortress gate without suffering any casualties.

In fact, the cavalry in the latter half of the charge were almost just running around, giving Winters the illusion that it was all a farce.

Field, accompanied by two subordinates, entered the fortress from another direction. To prevent open flames from igniting the gunpowder, the three spellcaster officers took turns maintaining the Light spell.

Field led the way, carefully inspecting each storeroom. Each time, he would first open a small crack in the door to check for any signs of fire inside. But the lieutenant colonel found no gunpowder magazine, only empty warehouses and terrified rats.

Winters was actually skeptical of the lieutenant colonel's theory that "the powder magazine must be the furthest away from the cannons." After checking a row of warehouses and not finding a trace of it, he became somewhat complacent.

Kofield remained vigilant, cautiously opening the second-to-last door. The wooden door creaked open a crack, and the lieutenant colonel suddenly froze in place.

He turned and nodded slightly to Moritz. The major, who was maintaining the light spell, understood and stopped casting it. He took a handful of silver coins from his pocket and waved them at the lieutenant colonel.

Field nodded again, took a deep breath in front of the door, and kicked the wooden door open forcefully. Then he instantly hid to the side and used his amplification technique to let out a loud shout.

The shout, amplified by magic, wasn't as deafening as Moritz's sonic boom, but it still startled Winters, and clearly, everyone in the room was also taken aback.

Elite musketeers can suppress their instinctive fear and wait for their commander's order to fire without blinking, even when the enemy is right in front of them.

But the people inside clearly didn't have that ability.

Gunshots rang out, and two lead bullets flew out of the door, shattering against the stone wall of the fortress.

Major Moritz saw that the people inside had already opened fire, so he flashed to the doorway and three silver coins flew out of his hand in quick succession—a simple yet deadly arrow technique.

Several heavy thuds came from inside the door.

"Didn't you say you were going to capture him alive? Couldn't you have hit him on the shoulder or somewhere else?" Field complained to the major, taking out a copper rod and activating a light spell.

Moritz shrugged and said nothing.

The cold weapons and armor in the room reflected the green light emitted by the Light spell; this must be the armory of the Duckbill Fortress. Winters saw two corpses lying on two muskets, behind them neatly stacked wooden barrels and layers of cannonballs piled on shelves.

"The navy's management is truly appalling." Even at this point, the lieutenant colonel couldn't resist adding, "The armory and the powder magazine are together; isn't that just asking for an accident?"

Winters was now used to Lieutenant Colonel Field's tendency to criticize everything he saw. The colonel didn't mean any harm; he was just a big mouth. At times like these, ignoring him was the best option, so he and Moritz pretended to be deaf and mute.

The lieutenant colonel, used to this kind of passive-aggressive behavior, clicked his tongue in boredom and squatted down to examine the body.

"Did you notice anything?" Moritz rarely spoke up.

“No uniform, dirty fingernails, rotten teeth—but these are common features; you can’t tell who it is,” Lieutenant Colonel Field replied casually. His attention was suddenly drawn to the weapon the deceased was carrying: “But this knife… isn’t that a cutlass?”

The lieutenant colonel drew the short scimitar from the dead man's body and brandished it twice: "This is a sailor's short scimitar... Ha, interesting. Let's go see if we've caught anyone alive over there."

The attackers were no match for the officers in hand-to-hand combat, and were also outnumbered. The officers quickly cleared the entire fortress at the cost of four minor injuries; the number of those wounded in hand-to-hand combat was less than the number of those injured in horseback riding at night.

The remaining few surviving enemies were dragged like chickens to the open ground in the center of the fortress, where they knelt trembling. The officers sat on the sidelines boasting, while the lieutenants did the dirty work, dragging one corpse after another out of the fortress.

"That brat didn't even have time to react before I went up and chopped off half of his shoulder with one strike. The blade even chipped..." Colonel Kara was clearly very satisfied with the surprise attack and was laughing and boasting about his bravery with several of his comrades.

What do warriors do after winning a battle? They brag. It's a universal human trait. This was undoubtedly a brilliant victory, and Colonel Kara, as the commander, had every right to boast about it.

Seeing his subordinate approach, Colonel Kara's smile faded. He nodded to one of his men and asked, "Is the count complete?"

The young officer nodded: "Forty-seven bodies were counted, but some of them were soldiers stationed here, and we couldn't identify them..."

"Don't worry about that," Colonel Kara interrupted. "Let the navy identify them themselves, we..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a loud bang, like a hammer smashing a boulder.

With the whistling of cannonballs and the heavy thuds of high-speed iron pellets hitting the stone wall, the outer wall of the Duckbeak Fortress was shattered and scattered with flying stones.

Some pebbles even flew into the open space in the center of the fortress, and several shells flew over the officers' heads.

Judging from the sound, at least a dozen cannons were firing at the Duckbill Fortress.

"Who's firing at us?" Colonel Kara asked angrily.

"There's a warship firing at us in Haidong Bay." An officer ran over to report, covering his hat. "It should be a naval ship. They probably don't know we've recaptured Yazizui Fortress. Should we go and inform them?"

"Notify my ass!" Colonel Kara glared at the other man. "Let him fight. What business is it of ours if the navy ships bombard the navy fortress? We're just sitting on the reverse slope, how can they hit us?"

He shouted, "Listen up! No one is allowed near the gun positions. If you get accidentally wounded, you'll have to go to the navy for medical expenses. Our mission is complete. I order everyone! Guard the gate! Await reinforcements."

Another artillery colonel pulled Colonel Kara aside and whispered, "The fighting is still going on at the dock. Is it really a good idea for us to just stand by and watch?"

“Brother, all of us over a hundred are officers. Who can I command?” Colonel Kara said helplessly. “You’re a colonel, and so am I. If it weren’t for Admiral Cio’s orders, could I have commanded you? The admiral’s order was to retake the fort, and we accomplished it. The admiral treated us like common soldiers. It’s a miracle no one died. There’s no need to sacrifice our juniors for the sake of the navy, is there?”

“I understand what you mean. It’s certainly not worth dying for the navy, but we can support them in a safer way.” The artillery colonel explained, “I checked the gun positions at Duckbill Fort. If we adjust the angle, some heavy artillery should be able to cover the dock. The admiral ordered us to retake the fort, but the fort must be effective once it’s retaken. Otherwise, why are we going through all this trouble for these few broken rocks?”

Colonel Kara couldn't persuade the other party, nor could he command him, so he could only nod. Both were colonels, and for an artillery colonel to come and consult with Kara was already a great honor. But he was still worried and instructed, "The navy ships are still attacking us; be very careful."

"Do not worry."

After the night shift order was arranged, Colonel Kara, along with two other officers, took the prisoner into the kitchen for interrogation; the scene was unlikely to be pleasant. The artillery colonel, with some officers from the artillery section, went to work on the cannons. Several junior officers were still on night watch, while the rest rested.

After firing several more salvos at the Duckbill Fortress in Haidong Bay, the warships realized what had happened. The Duckbill Fortress, which had been exchanging fire with them, had suddenly fallen silent. Presumably, something had gone wrong, and they ceased firing at it. Of course, it was also possible that they had lost the guidance of the flashes from the Duckbill Fortress's cannons, and the dim moonlight made it impossible for them to see where it was.

The Duckbill Fortress suddenly returned to tranquility. Winters first settled Strong Luck down; it wasn't just something he'd made up that Strong Luck had been fond of fighting with other stallions lately. The other officers' geldings were no match for the young horse; they were terrified of Strong Luck and desperately tried to get away from this erratic stallion, breaking several reins in the process.

Qiangyun had a mouthful of chew bits, but he couldn't bite his opponent, which made him extremely anxious.

Winters had no choice but to drive a stake into a corner of the open space and tie Strongy to a spot far away from the other warhorses.

"You little rascal, you're such a handful!" Winters slapped Qiangyun on the forehead. The Lucia horse showed no shame for causing its master to be scolded by several officers. It blinked its big eyes at Winters, its pink tongue sticking out, begging for candy.

Winters was both angry and amused. He grabbed a few candies and fed them to Qiangyun: "Eat, eat, eat. All you ever do is eat."

Winters had intended to remove Strong's tack to give it some comfort, but noticed that the other officers hadn't removed their horses' tacks, clearly preparing for an emergency. So Winters simply removed Strong's bit and gave it some hay and water.

"Montagne!" someone called to Winters. It was André. He was standing by the door, waving excitedly at Winters.

"Keep your voice down." Winters walked over. "What's got you so excited?"

"Don't ask, just come with me," Andrei replied mysteriously.

He led the way, with Winters following behind. After several turns, Andrei bowed, making a welcoming gesture: "Please allow me to present Your Excellency with—the Navy's treasure!"

After saying that, he lifted a wooden plank on the ground, revealing a basement.

The basement was brightly lit and filled with laughter; a dozen or so people were crammed into the small space. Winters recognized many familiar faces; they all seemed to be warrant officers from his cohort.

"You found the wine cellar?" Winters understood what was going on and asked Andrei with a smile.

Andrei said smugly, "Of course, my nose is even more sensitive than a dog's. I found it by following the scent. Alas, it's a pity the 'priest' isn't here, otherwise I would definitely have drunk him under the table tonight."

"Priest" was the new nickname Andrei had given Bad. Bad did not participate in the operation tonight because he did not have a warhorse and would not be able to reach the Eastern Camp in time even if he received the news.

"You guys have fun, I still have to stand guard at night." Winters made an excuse and left. In fact, he didn't drink and didn't like this kind of revelry.

Tonight's raid was a farce for Winters. He was inexplicably summoned to the East Camp, set off without a clue, and tasked with dealing with a group of enemies who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He hadn't done anything during the entire battle. He had absolutely no desire to celebrate.

Winters strolled to the top of the fortress, where heavy artillery was positioned inside a sturdy fortress, while smaller cannons were laid out in the open.

He sat on the low wall, the sea appearing a deep black under the moonlight, with a lone warship drifting on the water. That warship was the one that had just fired at the duckbill fortress, but for some reason, it hadn't gone to support the battle at the dock.

The docks are now ablaze with flames. Haidong Port, as the home port of the Venetta Navy, is not only a supply port, but also the location of the Venetta Navy shipyard.

The buildings in the harbor were engulfed in flames. In the firelight, Winters could only see a ship docked in its berth, burning fiercely. The attackers were setting fire to the laid keels and the warships under repair in the dock.

Gunfire erupted from the dock. Winters watched as the sailors tried to regroup and retake the dock several times, only to have their formation broken by volleys of fire and then retreat.

Blood was flowing in the dock, while just 600 meters away at the Duckbill Fortress, warrant officers were drinking and reveling, most of the officers having found a place with a ceiling to rest. The battle was over, and the entire fortress was shrouded in an eerie silence and tranquility.

Andrei, carrying two bottles of wine, also came to the top of the fortress and said to Winters nonchalantly, "It's no fun for me to be there alone, so I came to keep you company."

He used his teeth to pull off the cork and handed the bottle to Winters. He then opened another bottle for himself, took a big gulp, and said, "This officer's cellar wine doesn't seem anything special."

Winters took the bottle but didn't drink it. Pointing towards the dock, he said, "They're fighting fiercely over there. If we go to their aid, we'll be attacked from both sides. Do you think we can win?"

Andrei carefully examined the situation at the dock and said with a sneer, "If these attackers were all as skilled as the people in the fortress, we wouldn't need the navy. A hundred or so of us could rout them with a single charge. But we've studied at military academy for so many years. If we were to die like this, would you be willing to accept it?"

Winters was speechless. Andrei spoke sincerely and cruelly about everyone's selfishness—it wasn't worth it.

A stray bullet, a flying arrow, or a spear can easily take a person's life. It's not that we're afraid of death; those who are afraid wouldn't be gathering at the East Camp tonight. Leading soldiers to their deaths on the charge is acceptable. But dying like an ordinary soldier is not worth it.

“Don’t think about it. We’re just two warrant officers, the lowest-ranking officers. We do whatever they tell us to do. No need to overthink it.” Andrei brought out his “tool person” theory again. He excitedly moved closer to Winters, poked Winters in the waist, and asked in a nervous tone, “How many are you having tonight?”

"What do you mean, several?" Winters didn't understand what Andre was talking about.

"Oh dear, don't you understand?" Andrei gestured with his arm as if chopping down. "How many of these?"

Having figured out what the lunatic in front of him was asking, Winters said helplessly, "Not one."

Andrei laughed and held up three fingers: "I have three tonight, so we each have five points now, it's a tie... But to be honest, my five points are of higher quality. The priest has zero points, hahaha."

Warrant Officer Montagne sighed, "Brother, whatever you say, you've won."

Andrei answered with a single sentence, but Winters only saw the movement of his lips; the roar of heavy artillery drowned out Andrei's words.

For the first time tonight, the Duckbill Fortress's 32-pound cannon unleashed its fury upon the invaders.

I was exhausted from going out during the day yesterday, and when I got back in the evening, I finished writing and went straight to bed. I forgot to thank the readers who voted for the book, sorry.

Thank you to all the readers who voted for this book before, especially writersblock, 20181013204343295, 烟云散, 可kkkkk, and 20170726153222839. Thank you everyone, bowing deeply.

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(End of this chapter)